this is "piers morgan live." welcome to the viewers in the united states and around the world. a government shut down for 16 days, spies spying on spies and online health care sign up, more complicated than doing your taxes all designed by canada company. that and the president maintained your coverage won't change. >> if you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor. if you like your private health insurance plan, you can keep it. we'll keep this promise.

>> of course, he didn't keep any of those promises as it turned out and what about the pesky nsa story? you can't -- >> keep this promise to the american people, if you like >> the last few weeks, has it been as i said a comedian's dream? >> they said that about everything. it's always a comedian's dream. that's what we do, we work hard and that the our job. it's not crazier than a month ago. the republicans were on the the hot seat and washington is always a comedian's dream. that's why i got into this business. >> is it any worse than it's always been?

in reality, you've covered this for so long. what do you think? >> the country in general is on a decline. i do. as british, you probably understand that. yeah, i think -- i remember 20 years ago, the first issue is are people getting stupider? they were then and still are. i can't imagine how stupid they must have gotten. it's sure hard if you're a politician, not that i'm really that sympathetic to them to try to get information into people's heads. i don't think obama should have lied to people. >> first of all, insurance companies are always dropping people from plans this goes on and went on before obama care and losing prospective. he probably should not been so play -- play tent. since he got no republican votes and help and since three years after its a law they are still fighting, can you imagine what it would be like if he said yeah, some people's rate wills

go up. the thing passed by this much. if they said that, they might have lost the whole thing and politicians are always making compromises like that. for crying out loud, they made a compromise on slavery. >> when -- >> began -- >> when i see the president of the united states repeatedly including the state of the union assuring the american people you want to keep your doctor, plan, you will. he said it again and again and again. now we know that senior members in the very administration knew all along, they have known for three years, probably at least 50% of the people that applied, that would not apply. they would have to change their plan. that's a bare faced lie and i think somebody supportive of obama care. i come from a country that -- >> again, let's look at the perspective again on this.

why did we do this? why did we -- why did obama -- a lot of people when they got into office said he made a big mistake and should have went into the economy first. we went after this for a couple reasons. one, upwards of 50,000 people in this country were dying every year, needlessly dying because they didn't have health coverage. if that many people died from terrorism, we would probably be using nuks. it was ban bans resulting. we had to do something. what is the republican alternative? i get this is not working out perfectly. i don't think anybody ever thought it would, but what is their alternative? basically the status quo. if you're poor, go to the emergency room, walk it off. besides the fact that's awfully cruel to ask any people to wait on a health issue until it's an emergency. wait until that appendix bursts young lady. about the people who are takers,

this is a miss sieve hidden tax. you may have never been to an emergency room but you pay. >> i've been to one, i broke four ribs, five ribs and punctured a lung falling off a segway, do not use that -- >> here -- >> to a guy i was on morphine in agony and woke up to a guy literally handing me an invoice. i'm like what the hell are you doing? >> my point is all the people that go to the emergency room because they do not have coverage, we wind up paying for that. that's a reason health care costs so much. >> i agree with you and support the principles of obama care. that's why i'm more frustrated the system failed allowing perhaps the whole thing to collapse. we don't know how it will play out. the people they need to get enrolled, the young people who may have 30, 40, 50 years -- >> first of all, every program

of this size was a headache at first. so was bush's medicare prescription drug program for the old folks. hey, free viagra, have a free boner on george bush. remember me at the polls. they didn't like that at first. now it's popular. social security, medicare, all these programs have these problems when you start with them, but the reason why it's going to work is women. yes, young men do not want to sign up because they think they are invincible. women get it because women are more complicated, you know, they want contraception. they want breast exams. they are smarter about that, too. they don't think they are invincible. with all the problems in four polls last week, obama care is more popular than ever and republicans like to site the

statistic like 54% of people are against obama care. it very misleading. that includes the 16% of people that who think it doesn't go far enough. so americans really want coverage, of course. it's going to be popular. it's about your health, the health of your family. it a life and death issue and again, it was there, it was created because people were dying and the country was going broke. it's going to be a rocky birth but it's not going to fail. >> should sebelius go? should somebody carry the can for the fact that the system has started so badly? >> you know, i'm not a big fan of scapegoating. >> ever? >> well, no -- well, yeah, ever if it's actually scapegoating. >> are you a fan of accountability -- >> of course. >> where someone is in charge of it? >> there is a difference between accountability and scapegoating. right in the middle of it, i think it counterproductive to get rid of person who has been

there all along and knows the details, why get rid of her now to make the situation worse? >> but when she says we'll bring in the a team, i'm like hang on a second, this is the president's great initiative. >> i know. >> where was the a team before? >> there is no defense to that. i would never defend him on that. that's so ridiculous and frustrating because again, this was his great signature achievement. >> why didn't he know a month before when all these warning signs apparently were there that it wasn't ready. >> right. >> it was failing. is it really credible that the president's whose legacy may be based on this didn't know anything about it being problematic. >> i thought he was the detail guy and as michael moore said on my show on friday night, you know, young people, the ones trying to sign up, this is a glitch in the world they live in. >> this is grand dad not knowing

how to use -- >> well, if i use the clicker will i get coverage? so it's just -- this is just no way to excuse this or to say it's a good thing but again, we'll see where we are in a month. >> let's play a clip. this is what eric cantor had to say. >> the president knew these letters were coming and you could keep your health care plan if you like it but that raises serious questions about the sales job of obama care and that's why we're all saying that we shouldn't allow the american people to be impacted like this. >> okay. so that is the republican criticism of obama care, which is one issue in this and you've already spoken about it. let's watch what you had to say about this on your show. >> i'm going as the scariest thing of all. i'm going as the healthcare.gov website. [ laughter ]

i tell you something, i love this country. americans waited 70 years for affordable health care but if the website takes more than an hour, [ bleep ] it, i'm watching a cat video. >> let's clarify, you don't like cat videos, right? >> i've actually never seen one. >> here is my point, i agree with every wort of what both people said there, cantor's criticism and i think it's been sold on a lot of untruth misleading statements, whatever you want to call it and i also agree with you in the end if the ends game that comes in five, six months whatever begins to work, it's a pretty good plan. >> and also, let's, again, have perspective. was any program ever, ever sabotaged to the degree this one has been? it's been three years. it's not a bill. it's a law.

i know the tea people think they know the constitution, i don't know if they read it. a bill becomes a law. once it does, you don't argue about it. you know what this reminds me of? there is a stupid award show the espys. you don't need an award show for sports because we know who won because they actually played the game. the best football team, they won the super bowl. i don't care your opinion on the best football team. it the law, you're supposed to help it along. democrats are not going into iraq but i'm routing for my country to succeed. that's now how they played it. they shut down the government and go to the map in every possible way and vote to repeal it 41 times and that's the patriotic thing to do about trying to bring health care to people in this country that don't have it.

there are problems, let's work together to fix them. why aren't the republicans for medicare, supposed to be the party of business. for years business is complaining we're an unfair advantage because we have to cover workers because other countries don't have this stupid law. they froze wages as a way to compensate workers when they couldn't up their salaries and we still have it? if we were smart, we would have like canada, like britain and all these other countries, we would at least have a public option. that would straighten out a lot of this mess. in states where they want it to work, where they are cooperating. >> right. >> it is working which is the greatest hypocrisy because they say send it back to the states, the federal government is where things don't work. let the states handle it. if the states cooperated and handled it, it does work a lot better.

>> now i warned you nicely to the top of the pot and the boiling center coming out of you, i want to mention two words to come back after the break with, three minutes to think about it. ted cruz. >> great. >> don't say anything. just ferment for the next three minutes. is this the bacon and cheese diet? this is the creamy chicken corn chowder. i mean, look at it. so indulgent. did i tell you i am on the... [ both ] chicken pot pie diet! me too! [ male announcer ] so indulgent, you'll never believe they're light.

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what we do not do is spy unlawfully on americans or for that matter on citizens of any country. we only spy as authorized by law with multiple layers of oversight to be sure we don't abuse authorities. >> james clapper on the nsa leaks. i'm back with bill. before i get to that, bill, give me a plug for the shows you got going, parole of the palms in las vegas november 2nd and 3rd. >> thank you. >> always taking it to the people, piers. >> exactly. >> we will get to vegas? not everyone has cnn.

>> let's talk about mr. clapper's views. what do you think on this debate? i feel like if edward snowden lost sean penn, he has to many can be hasn't lost me. >> any concerns? >> i don't know what's in his mind. i don't know what he's doing now. he might be in a hot tub with two russian strippers named i want to drink a lot. he's done some service, getting us to at least debate the issue and as far as stuff gone on the last week or so with the european allies being up sit, i can understand if they felt their personal cell phones were being tapped. but on the other hand, they should really climb a little bit. it's been 60, 70 years since america defended allies, especially in europe. we liberated europe twice in the

last century. they never wanted to pay the premiums for being protected. cut us a little slack when we protect you. the 9/11 plot was hatched in germany. there are much more restive muslim populations on the european continent than here. we over do it all. there is no doubt about that. cut us slack for the protection we've given you-all this time. >> that could be an endorsement of what the nsa has been doing and what you said about edward snowden. so where do you come down more on the side of? are you -- >> it's hard to say because we don't really know what the nsa is doing. i'm for more transparency but you can't have complete transparency because they are a spy agency. you're keeping secrets. of course we're keeping secrets. >> so where is that line though? no one can quite work out, where

is the line? >> we don't want a rogue agency. what i don't want to know and find out is that they are dog things and obama doesn't know about it. it's one thing if obama knows about it -- >> he claimed he didn't know the nsa had been bugging angela merkle for years. >> they are in an agency or oliver norths, we don't need that. >> what about edward snowden in terms of the amount he disclosed. people have a view of manning on wiki lakes. >> movies are too long. yes, i mean the -- i can't remember the guy's name. i think it's bradford who said, you know, when you keep making the haystack bigger, it's harder to find the needle. look how many people are on the terrorist watch list, over a million. how many people have security

clearance, how much space we're building to house the data we're collecting. that's the big problem. we don't focus and do it efficiently. we don't do it like israelis do and greed. money leads everything. once a program starts, it gets bigger and bigger and bigger whether that's needed or not because the pigs get their snouts in the trough. it's another version of the 3,000 tanks we have sitting rotting in a field somewhere in california because even the army said we don't want these tanks. doesn't matter. we're still going to build them because it's a job's program, because it's something that gets congress man elected and eisenhower was so right what he said watch out for the military industrial complex. you have to put a leash on it and we never did and this is part of it. >> has america become a much more fearful country in front of all this driven not just by

grief as you say but also by a paranoia, by a fear? >> i think so. >> why? >> we don't care to learn about other country. there is an idea about american exceptionalism. i forget the statistic but a startling number of americans who said they had no desire to ever visit another country. >> right. >> you know, some people can't go because they can't afford it and a lot of people are like nope, got everything here. >> 75% of americans have no passport. >> right. >> i find that astonishing. >> right, and they don't seem to want one. why would you want to go overseas when branson is here in missouri? that's part of the problem is, you know, it's hard to be empathetic with people if they don't have knowledge. >> and the paralyzing bureaucracy, whether you're buying a car or a house or whatever it may be or coming out with a tv show, you have to sign a shaft of paperwork this long,

eight signatures and so on driven by legal fear, paranoia, somebody will sue me. >> that's middlemen, lawyers. >> right. >> we have a lot of middlemen that take a lot of money and want to keep their jobs. you don't need a middleman for a lot now. you don't need a travel agent anymore. >> that's true. >> you don't really need a real estate agent a lot of the time but try to get them out of the deal. >> beautifully i managed to string that out so we can come back with the same tease we had last time, two words, ted cruz, this time we will talk about ted cruz. >> okay. >> i know we can't establish a religious test for office, but if you believe we're living in the end times like michele bachmann does, we can take away the car keys.

yes, let jesus take the wheel. if you think the world is about to end that's your right but you don't get to vote on next year's budget because it doesn't concern you.

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>> i remember saying his filibustering is the equivalent of his twerking. >> let me come to ted cruz. i want to get breaking news to the viewers. chris brown, who obviously has been involved in another brawl over the weekend has been sent to rehab or gone voluntarily. his statement from his rep says chris brown has elected to enter a rehab facility. his goal is to gain focus and insight into his past and continue the pursuit of his life and his career into a healthier vantage point. >> he's all about the vantaged life. i was at the same hotel this year. we were playing the same city at the same night and staying in the same hotel and i remember the woman taking me up to the room and she's like i figured you celebrities would want to be on the same floor. i didn't want to be on the same floor. i'm like why did you put me on this floor? you know, it was non-stop -- i

like weed but the smell -- you know. and the noise and the people coming and going and like please move me to any other room, any other floor. i don't hold that against him. >> when you get caught in brawls and put yourself in rehab to get over it. >> this week there were two stories in the week that had to do with race. julian house -- >> she blacked her face. >> she didn't black her face. there is a difference between black face and doing a specific character. billy crystal used to do sammy davis jr. and made his face darker. that's not black face. black face was something they did in the menstrual era to make fun of an entire race of people and i doubt this woman has the faintest clue about the history of black face and what it is. so the good people who cannot wait to tell somebody you're so bad and make everybody apologize, which drives me crazy, too. but the problem isn't julian

putting on make up to go to a halloween party as one specific character. the problem is the reason chris brown was in washington d.c. is because he was the host of their homecoming party. i have a problem with that. a known woman beater like that is invited by this african american university to be the host of their big event. that should be looked at. that's an issue. let's come to ted cruz because we've been waiting for this. [ laughter ] >> i want to start -- i want to warm you up by playing what ann coulter -- >> ted cruz ironically. >> we've been twerking our way through this. ted cruz' chance of becoming president. >> there will be arguments in a party of ideas, that's one thing as i point out in this book. democrats have an advantage. they spend their lives figuring out how to get elected so we can figure out how to run other

people's lives. >> what do you make of her argument? >> it's always perfect, perfectly wrong. you know, and the way -- right, it's the democrats who only care about power. that's right. every politician cares about power to a certain degree, but, you know, democrats, i think in general, they are the policy wonks. they are the people who care about actually making government work. republicans tell you right out front we hate government. why go into it? if you hate government, you shouldn't do it. that's why i'm not a priest. first of all, that's a nonsensical argument but ted cruz and being president, i don't know her answer because i think he has a shot because he has an absolute shot at the nomination. he's definitely going to be the favorite of the people who vote in republican primaries. i mean, we saw what it looked like last time and the time

before but the problem with the republican primaries last time for them is they didn't have a ted cruz in there. that's why they went with mitt romney. remember, they tried every other person, every other republican got a shot at being number one, newt gingrich and herman cane and rick perry, but they were all even too ridiculous and lame for the tea party. but ted cruz is a harvard educated lawyer, not a dumb knee. >> alan told me one of the brightest people he's had. you can't under estimate it. >> he's played it exactly right. he is their hero. he's the guy they think finally stood up to the establishment and did what he said and went to washington and blah, blah, blah. so he's going to be very difficult to beat in the primaries. >> could it be him against chris christie? >> it probably will be. >> who will prevail? >> if it's the primary voters who vote every time, i think it will be ted cruz.

chris christie may already be toast because during hurricane sandy, he put his hand over president blankestein. he's suspect. he's from the northeast and once in awhile said things that make sense. so, i mean. >> instantly ruled out. >> he could be ruled out already. >> what would he say about america if ted cruz won the presidency. >> overseas? >> yeah, what would it mean for america and america's reputation, do you think? >> we don't know until -- if he became president who it would mean. the republicans are the masters of the are you kidding me candidate. you know, when ronald reagan first ran people are like are you kidding me? ronald reagan, the guy is getting into politics? dan quail is are you kidding me? george w. bush when he first ran people thought it was his father. sarah palin, they have no shame. so i'm not surprised it's going to be ted cruz, better than rick

santorum. that's what i'll say about that. >> let's take a break and come back and talk about two things dear to your heart, sex and drugs. >> wow. >> wow. >> either order, doesn't matter. and frustration. you'll find reviews on home repair to healthcare, written by people just like you. find out why more than two million members count on angie's list. angie's list -- reviews you can trust.

now that a record 58% of americans support the

legalization of marijuana, federal defendant has to hurry up and do something about it. come on, guys, i have to decide what i'm handing out for halloween. >> back with my special guest bill. people tweeting, well said tonight on health care. >> thank you mia. >> realtime, real opinion. >> congratulations on your new celebrity son. >> yeah, interesting. tell me this because you're the perfect guy to ask, why is it issues like gay rights and marijuana have moved so fast and so liberally, if you like, and yet, nothing has happened on guns? does it say about american culture those two issues, people are happy to move in times and change but one is cultural apparently irrevocable. >> we're the gun country. >> will it change? >> probably not in my lifetime. the more guns being sold.

>> less people have more guns, isn't that right? >> it's a fetish at this point, you know. look, i'm a gun owner. i'm just not a proud gun owner. i don't like guns. i would never want to have to use a gun. i always say they are like antibiotics. i hope i never have to use them but i don't love my antibiotics. i don't polish my abox sill lynn and put it in a glass case and take pictures with it but people are like that in america. they tried to pass legislature in a number of states limiting people to one gun a month and that was not acceptable. >> extraordinary. >> what about christmas when you have to buy guns for everybody, the kids? >> the number of children being killed by guns in america is rocketing. the latest figures, just a huge surge in the persistent accidental or otherwise deaths of kids -- >> to answer your question why

it is not changing it's because there is no opposition party. the democrats love guns, too. >> right. >> they just love guns slightly less and i mean, i would not be inspired by what the democrats say, either. joe biden said this year, you want a gun, buy a shotgun. well, that guy in washington, i think he was listening to joe biden because he used a shotgun. the democrats are asking for a three-second waiting period. that would be the clips, someone would have to change clips and start shooting again. unless we got a real political party that was going to go at the second amendment directly, which they should because the second amendment was never meant to be what it comes down to and what the supreme court said it is now, nothing will change and that seems to be the way americans like it. >> bill clinton told me the only way it would change is if american people went to the ballot box and actively voted in

favor of people who were in favor of some form of gun control. >> yeah, and i doubt that will happen. >> which he didn't think would happen. the democrats would know better than anyone. al gore lost tennessee, his home state in the 2000 election and the lesson the democrats took from that was don't come out against guns too strongly. now, they had to say something after the sandy hook episode but you saw how far that went and that bill that came out, was -- you know, it was not something that was going to affect whether anybody was going to live or die in this country, probably, maybe a few at the margins. >> on a positive note on gay rights and on many would say it's a positive, marijuana, as well, much more acceptance. are you surprised with the speed both of those things have moved in public opinion? >> i would hard recall it speedy. when i was in college i remember talking when we get a little older, marijuana will be legal because, you know, we know it's not harmful and we'll be the

ones to take over. well, i'm 57 now. two states have legal -- it hasn't exactly been a speedy trip but now that 58%, that was a shocking poll last week. 58% of people said they want marijuana to be legal. we're working on something this week, which is basically the idea the republicans would be smart to steal this issue. this is an issue they could steal from democrats. democrat haves dropped the ball on this. democrats always afraid of the polls. that's one thing i'll give to republicans. they don't run from them. democrats run from the polls. as soon as gay marriage was at 51% approval, democrats evolved on that issue. now that it's 58% for pot, we'll see. i wouldn't bet because marijuana being against marijuana has always been a little fig leaf democrats like to use to show america they are tough on crime and mainstream and all this nonsense but they should be careful because john mccain said maybe we should legalize it, ran

paul is on that page. republicans could take this issue because unlike some of the other issues, this does not violate their principles. they are the people who want less government regulation, more individual freedom, what better than embracing pot? so, you know, i say that like they will do it. they will not. if they are smart, they would. >> could you see a time in 30, 40 years in america where issues like gay marriage, marijuana, became federal issues, just a federal law encome pasting the whole of america? >> absolutely. that's what happens when a tipping point is reached with the states. that is what will happen with gay marriage and probably some day with marijuana itself. one reason to answer your question why marijuana moved so slowly. >> i thought it moved quite likely but you don't think it has. >> i don't think it has. because people found it so easy to get weed.

i don't know anybody in america that couldn't ever get weed like that and that includes kids in high school. so there wasn't a big motivation, we got to make it legal. >> let's take another break and come back and talk about low t, the feminine of the country. ♪ [ jen garner ] what skincare brand is so effective... so trusted... so clinically proven dermatologists recommend it twice as much as any other brand? neutrogena®. recommended by dermatologists 2 times more than any other brand. now that's beautiful. neutrogena®. ♪

#%tiaintroducing cardioviva: the first probiotic to help maintain healthy cholesterol levels without a prescription. cardioviva. i would say the feminine values are now the values of america. sensitivity is more important than truth. feelings are more important than facts. commitment is more important than individuality. children are more important than people. safety is more important than fun. i always hear women say married men live longer. yes, and an indoor cat also. [ laughter ] >> back with my special guest bill. do you prefer stand up or tv? >> you're asking me to choose between my children? >> yes. >> i couldn't.

i love stand up so much, it's, i guess, at this point a hobby because it's not really my day job. it's sort of a hobby in the sense of i love it as a hobby. i love the details. like building a ship in a bottle but i couldn't drag my butt around this country if i didn't love it. i've been lucky enough to be on tv for 20 years but it will end. they put johnny carson out at 67. it will happen to all of us and then i'll have stand up. >> will you literally do stand up until the day they carry you out in a box? >> yeah -- >> would it be a dream exit. >> it would be the way to go. >> as an atheist, that would be the way to go. do you think you'll live to be 100? >> i'm hoping i'll live forever,

the singularity is coming in the year 2029 and points out we're already partly machine. people have stints and artificial hearts and dick cheney is such a lucky guy. every time he was about to croak they came up with some heart -- >> i interviewed his surgeon this week. asked him did he think he performed a valuable public service. he didn't think it was funny. >> god called dick cheney home and he refused go. there's the problem. >> here's dick cheney talking to bill o'reilley this week. >> there are elements out there like fox, like your show, they think are seriously objective and reflective of what i think a lot of americans believe. i do find that the mainstream media oftentimes is what i'd consider off base or has a bias. >> so fox is the voice of reason. >> is he the illegitimate father of ann coulter?

i mean, that's of course ridiculous. i mean fox news. one of the main problems as we all know with the republican party in this era is where they get their information. they get it in this bubble. and if you look at republican polling, and i'm not talk about just the tea party. i'm talking about the mainstream republican party. look at some of the astounding percentages of what they believe. like 44% think benghazi is the really? worse than watergate, the trail of tears and slavery and japanese internment? guatemalan mental patients? really benghazi the worst scandal ever? i think the same number, 44% think that obama is conniving for a way to stay in office past 2017. i mean, this is because they live in the fox news bubble. because in that bubble, benghazi, for example, is just the worst scandal that ever happened.

>> somebody said now we have fox news and you've got msnbc, cnn, pretty good choice out there. does it really matter? does it matter that fox news does its agenda, that rachel mad dow does hers? my dad came to america for the first time last year, listened to bill o'reilley and loved everything he said. he said why can't we have a bill o'reilley in britain? i said there are a number of reasons. i'll explain them to you over a drink. does it matter? >> it does matter. when we didn't used to have these kind of places you could retreat to your ghettoization of thinking, public discourse was the better for it because you had to hear a conflicting idea. now you don't. that's true on the left, too. and cnn suffers from that to a degree because it tries to play it down the middle, and people generally want to hear what they already believe in. >> right. >> the difference between fox and msnbc, you could fact check

what they say on msnbc. they are very rarely wrong. they're not flying in the face of facts. fact checks what they say on fox you will find almost every night bill o'reilley says something that is insanely off base and not true. it doesn't matter. what republicans do is they meet in their layer, get their talking points straight. all together. they go out on the talk show. they say the exact same talking points. things like, well, obama care is causing people to fire workers and hire them back as part-timers. completely not true. they don't care. facts never get in the way of their talking points. and so for people who only listen to fox news, they can wake up with matt drudge and have lunch with rush limbaugh, go to bed with bill o'reilley and that's all going to know is what they hear there. very often these people do not care what the truth is. >> thank god you're here to balance things out. >> that's what i say. >> we'll come back a picture of you wrestling jay leno. >> wrestling?

i don't remember that. >> you actually wrestled jay leno on camera. ñn

>> two comics, one baby pool back in 1994. you couldn't even remember that happening? >> i'm watching it, and it's really not even coming back to me. you'd think i would remember